Prompt:
Each of the stories were reading by Washington Irving can be seen as a rebuke of some of the consequences of the Enlightenment. Irving seems to value the sleepy, rural lifestyle of the Dutch descendants who populate his tales, and the industrialization, political upheaval, and focus on monetary prosperity that comes with the young United States of America is a threat to that lifestyle. Explore how Irving expresses this Romantic rebuke of America in either The Legend of Sleepy Hollow or Rip Van Winkle by choosing at least two examples of this rebuke and discussing their significance. Consider talking about Irving’s use of characterization and/or symbolism to explore the problems associated with industrialization, political upheaval, and capitalism.

Here’s an example from “Rip Van Winkle” of the kind of thing I’m looking: After he awakens, Rip finds that the large tree that used to shelter the town’s elders is replaced with a “naked pole” with a cap on top of it. The tree might represent the Romantic notion that humans should live in harmony with nature. The pole represents the progressive attitudes of the Enlightenment (specifically, political progress). The fact that the “naked pole” is presented as a replacement for a tree that provided shelter, shows that the changes that took place while Rip was sleeping were often negative ones.

READ:

Read the “Introduction to Week 6” in this folder.
Read the introduction to Washington Irving (pp. 25-27).
Read my “Introduction to Gothic Literature” in this folder.
Watch “A Brief History of the Goths” video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STOJftffOqs)
Read “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” (pp. 41-62).
Read “Rip Van Winkle” (pp. 29-40).
Read the introduction to Poe (pp. 604-8).
Read “The Raven” (pp. 612-15).
Read “Masque of the Red Death” (pp. 662-66).
Read “The Tell-Tale Heart” (pp. 666-70).